Diplomat urges transparency on land reform

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said on Friday that South Africa should be transparent about land reform so as not to hurt the economy, adding that the issue had not been covered in the US with the “necessary perspective”.

US President Donald Trump waded into South Africa’s land debate last year by sending a late-night tweet in which he said he had asked his secretary of state to study “land and farm seizures” in South Africa. Those comments weakened the rand and enraged South African officials.

At the time of Trump’s tweet, the government had not seized land from farmers. But investors have been jittery since Trump’s comments, in case the US follows up with punitive measures.

Sullivan, who was speaking to journalists in Johannesburg after talks with South African officials, said he was mainly in “listening mode” as he sought to understand the complexities of the country’s land reform programme.

“My message on behalf of the US is in addressing this complex issue (land reform), that it be done in a transparent way so that both the agriculture sector and the economy generally aren’t significantly adversely affected,” he added.

“I don’t think it has translated well across the ocean and been covered with the depth and perspective that is necessary.” |